Demo permits issued for Focal Point Community Campus

Demolition permits have been issued for the existing structures at the proposed Focal Point Community Campus. Addressed at 3345 W. 31st St, the three masonry structures will be replaced by an extensive campus planned by not-for-profit developer Chicago Southwest Development Corporation. The entire project will span 30 acres, fronting W. 31st St to the north and S. Kedzie Ave to the east.

The Little Village site will hold a new home for Saint Anthony Hospital, retail, housing, and sports fields. With a design from architecture firm HDR, the latest plan, presented to the Committee on Design in September 2021, encompasses nearly one million square feet of development built in phases.

The main structure will be the new hospital tower, rising 12 stories. Rising 206 feet, the structure will house 151 beds for the new Saint Anthony Hospital and will connect to a seven-story outpatient facility via a skybridge. An interconnected structure will hold three floors of parking topped by athletic fields on the roof. The overall development will also deliver retail space, affordable housing, offices, a business incubator, a community center, a daycare facility, a trade school, and an outdoor amphitheater. The community campus will link to the surrounding community via bike and pedestrian connections to the planned El Paseo rails-to-trail project.

In the works for over 10 years, the project has undergone multiple revisions and recently acquired the property from the City of Chicago for $5 million. The overall $600 million project will still require approvals from the Chicago Plan Commission, Committee on Zoning, and full City Council. If approvals proceed as planned, new construction is planned for 2023 and completion expected in 2026.